Identifying leverage points to transition dysfunctional irrigation schemes towards complex adaptive systems

André F. van Rooyen, Martin Moyo, Henning Bjornlund, Thabani Dube, Karen Parry and Richard Stirzaker

International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2020, vol. 36, issue S1, S171-S198

Abstract: This article explores the value of Ostrom’s socio-ecological systems framework and Meadows’s leverage point hierarchy, as structured diagnostics, to define systemic problems and avoid approaches based on linear thinking. These frameworks were applied as an ex post analysis of an irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe, drawing on the scheme’s baseline condition and the intervention outcomes. Strong leverage points, particularly those driving feedback mechanisms and institutional design, interacted with other intervention points, initiating systemic change. This analysis suggests that dysfunctional schemes can be transitioned towards complex adaptive systems by using agricultural innovation platforms to identify systemic challenges and intervention points.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2020.1747409

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